Salisbury, N.C. —- The 15th-ranked and top-seeded Catawba College baseball team flexed its muscle in a 15-4 win over 4th-seeded Tusculum in an elimination game before falling to 5th-seeded Lincoln Memorial in game two as the Railsplitters advance to the South Atlantic Conference Baseball Championship Series.
GAME ONE | Catawba 15, Tusculum 4 - 7 innings
TEAM STATISTICS
- Catawba out-hit Tusculum 14-6
- The Catawba Indians had three of four extra-base hits; both teams recorded homers
- Tusculum committed two of three errors in the contest
- Catawba had both stolen bases in the game
- Catawba's pitchers allowed three earned runs on six hits and four walks, striking out two; Tusculum's staff allowed 13 earned runs on 14 hits and four walks, striking out five
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
- Dylan Driver was 3-for-3 with a homer, a double, a walk, four RBI and four runs scored
- Bo Rusher also went 3-for-3 with a double, a career-high six RBI and two runs scored
- Levi Perrell and Sam Hunter both singled twice and scored three times
- Ty Hubbard drove in two runs on two hits and also scored
- Mason Gwyn earned the win on the mound, tossing 3.2 shutout innings of relief, allowing just three hits and a walk
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST INNING
- Perrell led off with a single before Driver scored him on an RBI double down the left field line
- Rusher followed up with an RBI double of his own to take an early 2-0 lead
SECOND INNING
- An error scored Tusculum's first run; the Pioneers had the bases loaded with nobody out but a bunt back to the pitcher turned into a key double play to allow just the one run
THIRD INNING
- Hunter's single in the third loaded the bases with nobody out
- Rusher scored two on a single back to center field
- Logan Rogers brought home a run on his single to left center
- Hubbard drew a bases-loaded walk to give the Catawba Indians a 6-1 advantage
FOURTH INNING
- TU led off the fourth with a Murphy Flood homer
- The Pioneers then loaded the bases again with nobody out
- Zach Wilson scored two on a single back up the middle
- After Driver and Hunter reached safely to start the bottom half, Rusher scored them both on a single to deep right center
- A throwing error scored Rusher
- Cooper Bryson's sac fly added to the Catawba lead
- Hubbard added another score for good measure, as Catawba led 11-4 after eight runs were scored between both halves of the fourth
FIFTH INNING
- Rusher drove in his sixth run of the day on a sac fly to score Hunter in the fifth
SEVENTH INNING
- Hubbard and Perrell both singled to lead off the seventh before Driver ended the game with a three-run homer to left center
GAME TWO | Lincoln Memorial 8, Catawba 3
TEAM STATISTICS
- Lincoln Memorial out-hit Catawba 7-5
- The Railsplitters hit three of four extra-base hits and all three homers
- LMU committed the lone error in the game
- Lincoln Memorial's pitchers allowed two earned runs on five hits and four walks, striking out four; Catawba's staff allowed eight earned runs on seven hits and six walks, striking out four
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
- Hunter singled, walked, drove in a run and scored
- Cole Hales doubled and scored
- Hubbard singled and scored
- Hayden Simmerson allowed six earned runs on just five hits in 6.1 innings in the start, taking the loss
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST INNING
- Cameron Bowen hit a two-out, two-run homer to left center to start the scoring for the Railsplitters
THIRD INNING
- Hales doubled to right center to lead off the third inning
- Perrell drove him home a couple batters later on a sac fly to center field
- Hunter's RBI base hit through the right side scored Hubbard from second to tie the game
SIXTH INNING
- Catawba took a 3-2 lead when Hunter scored off a throwing error with two outs in the top half of the sixth
- LMU responded with another two-run homer from Bowen to take the 4-3 lead
SEVENTH INNING
- Kasten Harvey lifted a fly ball to right field that came home on a tagging runner from third, but the play at the plate was knocked free to score the run on the sac fly and keep the inning alive
- SAC Player of the Year Carson Boles capitalized, shooting a three-run homer the opposite way to open up an 8-3 lead for LMU
UP NEXT
- Catawba – the #1 ranked team in the Southeast region in the latest NCAA rankings – awaits its NCAA Tournament fate with the NCAA Division II Baseball selection show May 12th
